Pianoforte



Jan. 18, 1938. M. v. JACOBS H AL 2,105,739

PIANOFORTE Filed Aug. 51, 1936 g4 INVENTORS 1 M W mp 6M Patented Jan. 18, 1938 UNITED STATES PIANOFORTE Mordecai Victor Jacobs and Herbert Spencer Bird, London, England, assignors to Mordecai Victor Jacobs and Michael Kemble, London,

England Application August 3-1, 1936-, Serial No. 98,700 In Great Britain January 23, 1936 3 Claims.

This invention is for improvements in musicrests for pianofortes and like instruments of the kind in which the keyboard lid is very short from the hinge to the front, and very near to the keys when in its closed position, so that it is impossible to use the open lid alone as a support for a book or sheet of music.

According to one feature of the present invention a music-rest for a pianoforte or like instrument of the kind described comprises one or more supporting members pivoted to the lid at or near its forward edge so as to be extensible upwardly when the lid is open. The music-rest may be constituted by the said members alone or in co-operation with the lid. Preferably the members lie flush with the extreme edge of the lid when in their closed position.

The invention is especially applicable to miniature pianos in which the keyboard lid lies near the top of the instrument because, in pianos. of this kind, the casing at the rear of the keyboard does not project upwardly by a sufficient height to form a rest for a music-desk. In some miniature pianos the top of the casing lies flush with the keyboard lid and in others it projects upwardly by a short distance.

A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:-

Figure l is a front elevation of a piano with the lid open and the music-desk extended upwardly for use.

Figure 2 is an end elevation to a larger scale than Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the piano with the lid closed, and

Figure 4 is a detail view of one member of the music-rest.

As shown in the drawing, the piano comprises a main casing l and a keyboard I I having a keyboard lid hinged to the fixed structure of the piano at l2 (Figure 2).

The lid comprises a portion l3 which is substantially horizontal when the lid is closed and is therefore termed the horizontal portion, and a shorter portion M which, for a like reason, is termed the vertical portion. It will be seen that the lid is very short from front to back and that the top l5 of the casing ill which rises above the keyboard level is even shorter, so that special provision has to be made for supporting the music as will now be described.

Along the bottom edge of the vertical portion IA of the lid are two recesses I6, I! (see Figure 3) in each of which a strip of wood or metal I8 is pivoted as shown in Figures 1 and 4 about pivot pins 25. Each strip is formed with a curved end l9 adapted to abut against an end wall 20 of similar shape in the recess so that when the music-rest is not in use the strips are folded into the position shown in full lines in Figure 4. In this position each strip is of the same width and thickness as the edge of the lid l4 so that it is hardly noticeable when the lid is shut as shown in Figure 3. When the music-rest is required for use, the two strips l8 are folded upwardly into the position shown in Figure 1, their upward movement being limited by the ends of the unrecessed portion 2| of the edge of the lid. As shown in Figure 2, a book or sheet of music 22 can be supported on a ledge 23 of usual form hinged to the inside of the lid l4 and the upper part of the music will rest against upwardlyextending strips [8.

We claim:-

1. A keyboard lid for a miniature piano having a horizontal portion, a ledge carried by said horizontal portion, and a vertical front wall portion terminating in a bottom edge, the bottom edge being provided with elongated recesses, and a strip pivotally secured in each recess and movable from a position parallel with the edge to a position perpendicular to the edge so that when the lid is raised, each strip will extend upwardly beyond the vertical front wall, to constitute the back of a music desk of which the said ledge constitutes the base.

2. In a miniature pianoforte the combination of a keyboard lid, a hinge connecting the lid and the pianoforte, said lid comprising a horizontal portion, a vertical front wall and a bottom edge to said front wall, which edge is formed with recesses of the same width as the thickness of the front wall, a ledge carried by the said lid adjacent the hinge connection and distant from the front wall, strips of rigid material, each of substantially the same dimensions as said recesses, so as to occupy said recesses when the lid is closed, and a vertical pivot connecting each said strip to said vertical wall so that each strip, when the lid is raised, is movable into a position in which it extends upwardly beyond the said front wall in which position it constitutes the back of a music desk of which the said ledge constitutes the base.

3. In a miniature pianoforte the combination with a hinged keyboard lid comprising a horizontal portion, a ledge carried by said horizontal portion, a vertical portion, a bottom edge to said vertical portion, and recesses in said edge, of strips of rigid material received in said recesses, each strip being pivotally secured to said vertical portion adjacent the edge thereof so that each strip may be moved when the lid is raised into a position in which it extends upwardly beyond said structural portion, in which position it com stitutes the back of a music desk of which the said ledge constitutes the base.

MORDECAI VICTOR JACOBS. HERBERT SPENCER BIRD. 

